Hi everybody. I am new to the forum but ridden since 17. I am old lol, take my word for it. I did a search but can't find this specific issue. I lost the throw out bearing on my '99 road king the other day right in front of the dealership. I pushed it in and asked them to fix it because I was right there. Normally I use a very good Indy but I was right there. So the service manager calls and says they can't find the bearing and want to pull the tranny to look for pieces. 6 more hours at $100 ph! My indysays the bearing can't get to the tranny and I should run and flush it couple of times paying attention to the magnetic plug. I got the tech alone and he said the same thing. The service manager says if metal got into the tranny it could lock the tranny on the highway. I trust my Indy but I have been down before and didn't like it. What are your thoughts here?

 

I'll presume you're talking about the cable end and the ***** and ramps. There's three of the ***** as I recall, if they're there under the cover, great. If not, they're in the transmission. Unlikely for them to be in the transmission, but I don't think it's impossible, as I think there is an opening in the side plate centered down below the centerline of the two gearshaft bearings.

Equally don't know why there is concern about chips and bits if it's simply a case of the ***** falling out. Worth figuring outo why that happened of course. But it shouldn't inherently mean chips and bits.

 

Thank you. I am not sure why it happened. It got hot enough that it melted the rod just below the head.

 

IIRC that bearing is smaller than a Quarter and the bearing roller are rather small.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/75-84-Shovel...-/371470142165


http://www.dragspecialties.com/produ...umber=11320568


I also think that since oil can flow from the right side cover into the main transmission housing, a roller could find it's way in there also.


http://partsfinder.onlinemicrofiche....=16&c=0&d=1999 FLHR ROAD KING® CLASSIC (FD) TRANSMISSION BEARINGS W/ SIDE COVERS


http://partsfinder.onlinemicrofiche....=16&c=0&d=1999 FLHR ROAD KING® CLASSIC (FD) TRANSMISSION BEARINGS W/ SIDE COVERS

 

Do you think it will flush out or is better to go looking for it? Is it likely to lock my transmission at speed?

 

When the throw out bearing fails it ABSOLUTLEY can get to the rest of tne tranny, tbere are 3 openings in the side door to allow fluid into the end cover, the needle bearings are small but guess what, they are hardend bearings, when the trans gears grind them up the gears get damaged, and eventually the est of the needle bearings throughout the trans too!

 

Its not likely to lock it up, just damage a lot of other expensive parts!

 

I've had bearings go through transmissions before. When the ***** or rollers get into the gear teeth, you'll get lock-up. It'll release when the bearing shoots out, a gear tooth breaks, or your reverse the gear motion and drop the bearing out. All in all, a bit more exciting and sometimes expensive than you'd likely want. So yea, I'd say find the bits and don't just count on them laying in the bottom.

Your comment about things getting so hot "it melted the rod just below the head" is another strong indicator that you need to go looking for damage. I don't know exactly what you're seeing or describing, but things should not be getting that hot. If they did, other things are likely damaged as well. Lack of lubrication would be the most likely suspect imo. Which means other transmission bearings are likely damaged as well.

 

I will have it done. Thank you.

 

I had my throw out bearing self destruct about an hour outside Las Vegas. I limped back to Las Vegas Harley Davidson with no clutch. The tech there was spent over an hour with a magnet making sure he retrieved ever roller bearing and piece of the bearing carriage from inside the tranny.
I had about 100K miles on the bike at that time but only about 12K on a rebuilt motor. Crazy how a $10 part can bring you to your knees. Flushing isn't going to move all that metal out of the tranny. you need to go in after it

I have since upgraded to the Baker Heavy Duty throw out bearings in both my touring bikes.